TOPEKA - What voters decided Tuesday brought both elation and disappointment to each of the state's major political parties.

Chris Green - Harris News Service - cgreen@hutchnews.com

Saturday

Nov 8, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 8, 2008 at 5:00 PM

Kansas Democrats could celebrate the victory of President-elect Barack Obama and national Democratic success.

But within the state, a favored Democratic incumbent, Nancy Boyda, lost her congressional seat and the party failed to make gains in the state Legislature, despite high hopes of being able to do so.

Democrats, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, said the party faces increasingly tough odds in presidential election years.

A Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won the state since 1964, and while Obama bested the showings of other recent Democratic contenders for the White House, he still only managed 41 percent of the vote to John McCain's 57 percent.

"I think it's tough when you have a candidate at the top of a ticket who's going to lose in double digits" but convince voters to check the Democrat in other races, Sebelius said. "That's always been an uphill climb."

For Kansas Republicans, Lynn Jenkins' victory over Boyda in the 2nd District race was something to celebrate. They could also take satisfaction in holding on to power in the Kansas Legislature by about the same wide margins they held previously.

Republicans officials noted their victories came just two years after political observers speculated that Kansas might be turning purple after three major Democratic victories in 2006.

Christian Morgan, executive director of the state Republican Party, saw his party having increasing momentum going into the 2010 election cycle, when it will try to maintain its hold on a second U.S. Senate seat and reclaim the offices of governor and attorney general.

"I think 2010 is going to be a pretty decisive year for Republicans," Morgan said.

But if Republicans in Kansas appear to be on solid ground, Tuesday's election showed their party reeling nationally.

Democrats won the presidency and did so with victories in reliably GOP states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana. They also expanded their majority by at least six seats in the U.S. Senate and 19 in the House after Tuesday's elections.

But Morgan said he sees the national losses as being part of an ongoing political cycle, rather than a sign of a long-term downward trend in Republican fortunes.

"This happens every once in a while when it comes to national politics," said Morgan, pointing out that Republicans lost big nationally in 1992 before storming back two years later.

Chapman Rackaway, a political scientist at Fort Hays State University, said Republicans in Kansas were fortunate to avoid the struggles of their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the country.

The strong showings of McCain and GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, who easily bested Democrat Jim Slattery, in Kansas probably laid the groundwork for the party's success this year, he said.

Rackaway said the state's Democrats were also probably hurt by the fact that Kansas, while declining, hasn't endured the struggles that other states, such as Ohio and Michigan, have.

He said the state GOP's prospects might look even brighter for 2010, particularly because the sitting president's party tends to lose power in an off-year election.

But Rackaway said Republicans are still struggling nationally and desperately need a new strategy to lure more voters under their tent in an increasingly diverse country.

As for Kansas Democrats, Joe Aistrup, a Kansas State University political scientist, said they'll need a lot more help from Obama if they're going to seriously challenge the GOP for dominance of the state in the near future.

"Right now for Kansas Democrats, what they need is for a strong national Democratic leader to come in and really start to appeal to independent voters and moderate Republicans," Aistrup said. "It's not enough to have a popular Democratic governor in the state."

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